“Since You Brought It Up”

Warner Bros.

Standing an easy 6’5” tall with a frame more akin to an NFL lineman than an entertainer, James Otto’s mere presence is enough to garner your attention. And his voice? Maybe bigger. John Rich of the country duo Big & Rich often introduces Otto as “The Biggest Voice in Country Music,” a claim few refute upon hearing him sing.

“As long as I can possibly remember I have been obsessed with music,” Otto says. “Listening to it on the radio, getting into my mom’s record collection—my tastes have changed, but music has been there my whole life.” Otto was raised all over the country, from Washington State, to his grandparents’ farm in North Dakota, and in rural Alabama. Otto didn’t just listen to music, he made it. “I got a record player with a mic on it when I was three or four, and I’ve been singing ever since,” he recalls.

Otto’s No. 1 hit “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” put the gentle giant on the map and earned him a spot on the Country Radio Broadcaster’s New Faces show. The song was also nominated for CMT’s Breakthrough Video of the Year. Another recent triumph was winning his first ACM award—Song of the Year, with co-writers Jamey Johnson and Thomas Lee Miller for the song, “In Color.”

James Otto’s new single, “Since You Brought It Up,” from his upcoming CD, shipped to radio on April 24 and will go for adds May 18th.